Edge of the Abyss
by Borderlinefreeze
Summary: Gastrea, horribly mutated animals and insects that almost destroyed the world. With humanity barely able to hold its precarious ground, the Tokyo area must rely on a very tedious ally. Vadic Kiev is a promoter from Russia hired by the Tokyo area to help them keep their citizens alive. He and his initiator, Akira, must fight against the horrors of the Gastrea, and the humans.
1. Part 1: Monsters, chapter 1

The following is a fanfiction of the show, "Black Bullet," as written by Borderlinefreeze and SMsoulrend. All rights to the owner and Funimation.

The anime was-

Directed by Masayuki Kojima Produced by Asuka Yamazaki  
Fuminori Yamazaki  
Mitsutoshi Ogura  
Yasutaka Kurosaki Written by Tatsuhiko Urahata Music by Shirō Sagisu Studio Kinema Citrus, Orange Licensed by

AUS

Hanabee

NA

Sentai Filmworks

UK

Animatsu Entertainment

Network AT-X, Tokyo MX, SUN, tvk,KBS, TVA, BS11, TSC Original run April 8, 2014 – July 1, 2014 Episodes 13

* * *

"He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster. And if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee" - Nietzsche

 **1**

"They're arriving today?" The woman said. It was not a question, but a statement. Ugly. Unwanted. _They,_ were monsters as far as anyone in that particular room was concerned. Still, in these desperate times with the Gastera closing in around the last vestiges of humanity, monsters like _them_ were a necessity. The "Lesser of two evils," supposedly. Even still, the Woman doubted that anyone that participated in the creation of _them_ would be allowed to go to any kind of Heaven. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, a man at the other end of the long oak table they were all seated at answered her;

"Indeed. The "Dark Messiah" and his partner shall be arriving from the station today at noon." The Woman drank the information in as if it physically pained her, face contorting into a grimace.

"Very well; Send out Kirihiko to meet with them; God knows we don't want those two running around the city unattended."

There was another one of those dreadful pauses, in which no one wanted to throw out their voice to interrupt. Finally, the youngest among them (a girl no older than 16) spoke, tentatively at first, and then with growing confidence;

"C'mon. We can send someone better than that, can't we? This is a foreign policy issue after all, and we want to use all of the tools available to us."

"Kirihiko is a very effective and loyal tool," the Woman snapped back, clearly perturbed by the nerve of the younger one. Still, the child would not be silent

"You're right; allow me to rephrase. Kirihiko is a very _blunt_ tool, and when dealing with people like the Dark Messiah and his partner, shouldn't we use someone a bit more delicate?"

The Woman was silent for what seemed like an eternity. As she finally opened her mouth to speak, the shrouded figure at the head of the table cut her off; his voice low and gravely, full of commanding tone;

"Ajiro is correct. We will send someone more…subtle for the task of greeting our visitors."

As much as she did not agree with the decision, the Woman could hardly argue with her Senior. Still, her sharp tongue would not allow her to be silent;

"If not Kirihiko then _who_? Surely not Ajiro; She's just a little girl."

The younger's face turned bright red, and she stared daggers at her senior. This was interrupted by a deep rumbling, which the Woman, the man and the girl noted as laughter. Their leader took a brief moment to compose himself, then continued;

"Ajiro is perfect; she's young, pretty, and most importantly, unassuming. If anyone can catch that viper off his guard, it'll be her."

Grudgingly, the Woman muttered her agreement as the girl beamed with pride.

"And what say you, Rao? Are you opposed to the idea?"

"Not at all," said the last man, drumming his fingers in a staccato rhythm along the binder he held clutched in a white-knuckled fist. He kept his tone neutral and pleasant, but the leader could tell he was displeased as well; he was just not as foolish as the Woman to actually _voice_ his dissent. Still, it mattered not; the Leader had the final say, and he had given his order.

"Ajiro will go to the station at once to pick them up." The leader rumbled in his deep voice.

"As you wish, Milord." Ajiro said, and with an extravagant curtsey she left the room, leaving behind the wafting odor of cheap perfume.

"A waste of time, that's what all this will be" Grumbled the Woman to no one in particular. "There's no way that we can rely on _them_."

"We'll see." Responded the leader, as he brought up a small viewing screen from Ajiro's perspective, steepling his fingers together as he began to watch for the monster he had summoned to his beloved home.

Vadic Kiev walked through the bustling metropolis that was Tokyo without a care in the world. He had lost his companion somewhere else in the city, but he had complete and utter faith that she would catch up. Faith, was something that many people had in the duo; whether or not it was deserved remained to be seen. Despite the massive crowds everywhere, there was a small bubble around him where almost no one came near. Perhaps this was because he made sure to expose the neat badge on his belt that marked him as a Promoter, or maybe because he made no attempt to hide the two guns he wore at either hip in black holsters. Whatever the reason, Vadic was not worried; he did not often worry about trivial things such as that, for as he put it so very expertly to himself a few inner monologues ago, " _Wolves do not concern themselves with the opinions of sheep."_ He walked past a shop window on the busy street that was shining and clean. He caught his reflection and stopped for a quick glance; A young man of 20 something gazed back at him; He had a sharp face like that of a hawk beneath a mess of snow white hair. Two eyes, one green and one blue gazed back out of that reflection, and worked their way down the man; An expensive black suit coat with pants and shoes to match; Several holsters were worked into the coat and onto a black leather belt he wore around his waist, with a different type of gun in each. He stood at around 6'3" and was slender, but had a thick layer of athlete's muscle that accented the corners of the suit. It was the eyes that had stopped him. A random running thought had occurred to him (as they often did) that those eyes in the reflection looking back at him were not his own, and he felt a brief rush of fear as a chill glided down his back. Well, one could not exactly call it fear; Vadic _knew_ fear. He had known it when his parents sold him to the Russian mafia when he was 8, he had known it the first time he had been forced to take the life of another at the tender age of 11, and he had known it when the men in the masks had turned him into the _D'yavol_. This was not fear, but something...less. More acute to being startled than actual _fear._ Vadic nodded an affirmative to no one in particular, and was pulled from the vast and often turbulent ocean that was his mind by the sound of a little girl calling his name. He turned from the glass, and looked back to see his partner calling for him; She was very young, 7, maybe 8 at the oldest. She had a face that was round, giving her a look of innocence that seemed to give off an aura of disarming calm. She was short, about 4'2". The girl's hair was moderately short, just reaching her chin, and a dark silver with hints of blue scattered throughout. Her eyes were a deep scarlet, giving her a somewhat non-human appearance, although not as much as the feline ears that jutted out from her mass of hair of the same color, with a tail to match. She was wearing a light-blue short-sleeved shirt, a black skirt that reached just above her knees, black leggings, and light-blue tennis shoes. Her scarlet eyes shone upon sight of Vadic. He turned, and flashed her a brief grin, then waited for her to catch up.

"Geez, you could have waited for me!" Akira said in a light, soft voice, her face contorting into a pout.

"I could have done a great many things, however we have a deadline to keep, and as I understand it the Japanese are _quite_ insistent on punctuality." Akira looked at him with a slight scowl on her face.

"Vadic, I've told you that it's rude to generalize cultures like that, even if what you say isn't necessarily rude." She reminded him. He looked up slightly from her face for a brief moment.

"Noted" He replied. "May we continue?" She nodded, then followed as Vadic shot out ahead of her, his long legs covering the distance of her sprint in a single stride. The unlikely pair moved quickly through the large crowd, cutting through the people like a knife through butter. Vadic began humming Tchaikovsky to himself as they moved along, wondering what manner of monster that he would face today. The pair walked abreast, the silence between them comfortable; the kind of calm silence that comes from having complete trust in one another. They continued like this, until the spell of relative calm they had been under was shattered by the scream of a young girl; In one of the many side alleys of the great city, a small cursed child was being abused by 4 adult men. Despite the fact that the girl was only 7 or 8, not a single person moved to assist her. In fact, only a scarce few even spared a worried glance in her direction as they moved past hurriedly.

"Vadic, we have to help her!" Akira pleaded, her eyes begging her partner for help. Vadic took one look at Akira, and knew that resisting her on this point would offer no gain. So it would be the worst kind of monster. With a sigh of annoyance, he called out to the thugs, his voice becoming ugly and menacing;

"Leave that girl alone." Vadic threatened in a tone relative to an animal warring of unwanted company.

"Or else what?" Sneered one of the men. Vadic eyed the man and his companions; 4 men, all in their mid twenties, casual civilian garb.

"I'm giving you one chance to walk out of here on your own two feet," Vadic began, his voice carrying an undertone of malice "Or else you can be carried out."

"You've got a big mouth; and I'm gonna enjoy shutting it!" Yelled another thug, body tensing as he prepared to rush Vadic. In truth, Vadic could have been blindfolded and would have seen the attack coming; his eyes turned a dull grey as he allowed the man to build up a staggering amount of momentum, then step-sided him as he rushed past, giving him a shove to send him flying head-first into the wall behind them, knocking him out. The next thug came in with a high blow meant to stun, but his fist only found a bone-crushing vice that ground the bones in his hand to dust. Vadic followed up with a series of devastating blows to the midsection, as well as a quick jab to the face; the man went down hard. The third and fourth attackers came at him together, one coming in with a massive haymaker and the other performing a low, sweeping kick aimed at the legs. Vadic couldn't suppress the laugh that came out of his mouth as he moved so quickly he seemed to disappear; one second he was standing still, and the next he was behind the pair. With two swift blows he struck two vital pressure points, and the men went down with little more than a grunt. Vadic eyes shifted from grey back to their original colors before he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bottle of hand sanitizer, rubbing it on his hands before turning to the small child on the ground.

"Are you injured?" He asked to the cursed child who lay sprawled out on the cement; she had raven black hair and the crimson eyes that were the indicator of her curse.

"Y-yes, I'm alright now." She managed to sputter out between side-splitting coughing fits as she stood up. Vadic reached down towards the girl to inspect her injuries.

"Bruised ribs, underfed, slightly dehydrated, and could use a shower." He said as he inspected her. "No irreversible injuries or medical problems." He reached into his pocket and withdrew his wallet, picking out 10,000 yen and held it out for the girl. "Go to the police, tell them a civil security officer by the name of Vadic sent you, and ask them for food, clothes, water, and access to a bath." As she took the money with a hesitant hand he wrote a phone number on a small piece of paper and handed it to the girl. "And if they don't help, ask for phone access and call this number." Vadic pulled off his suit coat and wrapped it around the girl. "Hide that money as well, and stay out of sight so you get to the police safely." She stared at him in shocked silence as he strolled out of the alley, propped Akira up on his shoulders, and began making his way downtown yet again.

Fifteen minutes later, the pair stood in front of an unassuming building in the warehouse district, with a rickety sign outside that read, " _Tokyo Civil Service Agency_." Vadic cast a glance at his partner, who gave him a small nod of encouragement. With a sigh he pulled open the heavy doors, and stepped inside. The first thing that struck them about the room they entered was the sheer size of it; the room was mindbogglingly big. The walls were painted a dark blue, and there was a domed ceiling almost twenty feet above them. Paintings of scenery and the occasional old man were scattered all over the walls. The room had multiple hallways, including one on the opposite side that led to a massive pair of oak double doors; the sound of faint voices could be heard from their side, but not even Vadic's superhuman hearing could pick out every word. Something about a monster arriving in the city; it was then he realized with a small spark of understanding that they were talking about him. He held out an open hand to Akira, who took it gingerly. The pair strolled down the hall, and Vadic thrust open the colossal door. Even with his speed and intelligence, Vadic had a difficult time predicting the gunfire that rained on him as he stepped through the threshold of the room. As his eyes turned a deep golden he tracked three shots, two to the chest and one to the head. WIth a flick of the wrist faster than that of a snake striking, Vadic whipped his pistols out of their holsters and shot the two chest shots out of the air and casually brought his head to one side to dodge the last one. Akira let out a surprisingly deep and dangerous sounding growl for her small frame and crouched down, tail lashing and razor-sharp claws extending as she prepared to pounce on their attacker. However, they never got the chance. The room was simple, adorned with only a long table, with two figures seated around them, with a third standing at the head of it holding a gun. The gunman was tall and slender, his face carved and shaped with the etchings of age; a swath of thick black hair with long streaks of silver throughout adorned his head. His facial features were bold and strong; a stark jaw that jutted out from the rest of his face, a roman nose that had obviously been broken multiple times, and a pair of steel grey eyes that coldly studied Vadic with emotionless detachment. After an eternity of silence, the man sighed exasperatedly, then said,

"Sit, monster. We have much to discuss."

* * *

Thank you for reading chapter one of Edge of the Abyss. SMSoulread and I appreciate any and all feedback and support given to us from all of you out there. I myself would also appreciate if you would take the time to check out my other story, The Cutting Edge, a fanfiction of Sword Art Online; also with original characters. Thanks again for reading Edge of the Abyss, and have a great day.


	2. Part 1: Monsters, chapter 2

The following is a fanfiction of the show, "Black Bullet," as written by Borderlinefreeze and SMsoulrend. All rights to the owner and Funimation.

The anime was-

Directed by Masayuki Kojima Produced by Asuka Yamazaki  
Fuminori Yamazaki  
Mitsutoshi Ogura  
Yasutaka Kurosaki Written by Tatsuhiko Urahata Music by Shirō Sagisu Studio Kinema Citrus, Orange Licensed by

AUS

Hanabee

NA

Sentai Filmworks

UK

Animatsu Entertainment

Network AT-X, Tokyo MX, SUN, tvk,KBS, TVA, BS11, TSC Original run April 8, 2014 – July 1, 2014 Episodes 13

* * *

 **2**

The Woman and Rao sat in stunned silence, watching with awe the man who had just shot their leader's bullets out of the air. The cursed child he had arrived with paced around him nervously, tail flicking back and forth in an agitated motion, not being able to stand still. Her partner however, was the picture of calm; as he collected himself, he slowly and deliberately slid his weapons back in their holsters with an audible _click_. He moved quickly and elegantly, with all the grace of a dancer. As he sat, he crossed one long leg over the other, and studied their leader and master carefully, eyes shifting back from gold to blue and green, and roving over the man, seeming to drink in his very _essence_. The leader, to his credit, did not seem visibly shaken, allowing only his token scowl to dominate his face. The Russian sat patiently.

"Would you please make us aware of any other weapons you might have on you?" The leader insisted. With a completely neutral expression Vadic placed the 1911 and M9 at his hips on the table in front of him, then reached under his left arm and retrieved a shining silver fifty caliber Desert Eagle and set it next to the other two guns. Lastly he reached down and pulled a large Bowie knife with a black blade made out of varanium out of the sheath inside his boot and promptly laid it down. "Is that all of them?" Vadic nodded once. "And where is your jacket? I assume you don't go around flaunting your weapons all around the city."

"I lost it." He said in a flat monotone.

"In any case you may reclaim your weapons." The russian placed each weapon back into it's rightful place before leaning back into his chair. The cursed child that followed him in then crawled up into his lap and promptly fell asleep. The man waited a few moments, before opening his mouth to speak in flawless Japanese:

"I had a feeling I wouldn't regret coming to this country, and I have yet to be disappointed." He rubbed his hands together quickly, the smile of a madman blooming on his face. "So! Let me think about this; you shot at me not to kill me, because if that were the case, the young lady hiding in the closet over there with the AA12 shotgun could have turned me to swiss cheese." A young lady in an ordinate dress stepped out of the large storage room to Vadic's right and curtsied. "This ordeal could have also been a bit dangerous had anyone been standing behind me, but I don't mean to tell you your business. So; excluding murder, it must have been a test. As to what, I'm not sure. Perhaps you could shed some light on that?"

"As to whether you are who you say you are, and if your reputation is deserved." The leader responded.

"And the results are?" The man shot back.

"At first I wasn't sure, but you've convinced me; Welcome to Tokyo, Mr. Kiev." Vadic straightened and sat up a little taller. Akira muttered something unintelligible and snuggled back against his chest.

"Thank you for having me, I hope we both gain from the experience." Vadic retorted, his voice containing nothing but friendly tones.

"Indeed." The older man responded. "Allow me to introduce my colleagues; the young lady with the shotgun was sent to meet you, but apparently got lost before returning to us." There was a tone of annoyance and disappointment in his voice. "Her name is Ajiro." The girl curtsied again, and nearly discharged her weapon in the process.

"Excuse me miss, would you please engage the safety on that firearm. Just now the trigger was 32 micrometers away from discharging a round and I think everyone would feel a little more secure if that didn't happen again." Vadic stated. She looked at him in shock before flipping on the safety. "You have my thanks."

The older man continued; "The gentleman over there is Mr. Rao, my right hand man." Rao inclined his head a fraction of an inch, a small grin coming over his face. "And lastly, is Lady Elisea," the man said. The woman sneered at the pair, and Akira woke up long enough to let out an uninterested hiss at her.

"I will admit, your shall we say, _sudden_ invitation has my curiosity absolutely piqued. I haven't been so excited since I had the opportunity to dissect a live gastera." Vadic admitted. The leader shifted in his chair uncomfortably, waiting for some kind of facial indication that the statement was a joke, or that the man sitting across from him was playing with him. No such indication came, as his face remained the same calm, dissecting gaze, adorned only with that madman's smile. The Old Man finally broke the silence once again.

"Have you heard of the terrorist group 'Alenae'?"

Vadic shifted forward once more, face shifting flawlessly into a neutral mask, but his voice betrayed his interest;

"I can't say that I have; what is their crime?"

"Many things, most of them so heinous that they have been covered up from the public eye. They are a group of insane scientists and Promoter/Initiator pairs that have turned their backs on humanity."

"Well now, all we need is a stage for you to perform on so your drama skills can be appreciated." Vadic said, a slight smile forming in the corner of his eyes.

"I assure you, I am _not_ a man who takes things like the safety of my city lightly. These people have taken it upon themselves to rid the world of what they refer to as 'The Great Pestilence'" by creating level 5 Gastera. The man paused, and waited for Vadic to ask a question.

Vadic humored the man. "The great pestilence? Are they referring to humanity?" Obviously knowing the answer.

"Yeah! Insane, aren't they?" Piped up Ajiro

"Actually, I can't say that I blame them;" Vadic replied, to the obvious shock of everyone in the room. "People are loud, violent archaic beasts that take as much pleasure in murder that they do eating. In my honest and expert opinion, the world would be a much safer place with all of those… _beasts…_ gone."

"Keep in mind that _you_ are one of those 'beasts'" replied Rao calmly, though his slightly irate tone belied his true feelings. Vadic looked the man dead in the eyes and flashed him a grin that was absolutely vulpine;

"That, dear sir, is entirely your opinion." Vadic said. He flicked Akira on the nose, which elicited a playful nip as she awoke and hopped to the floor. Vadic stood, stretching each of his long limbs as he did so."Well ladies and gentlemen, it truly has been a pleasure, but it seems that I was brought to your country for naught; this is entirely a Japanese matter. I bid you all a good day."

"Wait!" Exclaimed Elaina. "I don't know how they do it in the Russian branch, but here people help each other when they are in need. We called you because our people are inefficient. How dare you turn your back on humanity like that!"

"How dare _I_? " Vadic responded. Something dark and ugly shifted behind his eyes, and his face contorted into a scowl. "How dare _you madam_. It is not my job nor my place to take care of the whole world; if your people are not good enough, I would recommend training them better, and I would certainly recommend not talking down on your superior. I don't know who you think you are, but allow me to assure you; I am _not_ one of your little lapdogs to be bossed around. As I said; good day." Vadic turned as he said this, and started towards the door. Akira stuck her tongue out at the woman and quickly followed. Just as the pair reached the door, the old man boomed;

"WAIT!" Vadic turned, silver eyebrow arched.

"Oh? And why should I?"

"What my less than diplomatic associate was attempting to say is this; we cannot stop these maniacs on our own. We would be willing and capable to compensate you handsomely for all of your trouble."

"I want 10 billion yen." Vadic replied. All of the members but the leaders jaws dropped.

"Are you insane?" Shouted Rao; "Even if we had the authority to pay that much, it would destabilize all of Tokyo's economy!"

"Obviously, you don't value your lives very highly then. Now, for the last time, good day."

"Wait. We'll pay it." Said the old man quietly.

"Chief!" exclaimed Ajiro and Rao at the same time.

"Shut. Up." He replied, his rudeness stunning his underlings into silence.

"What was that?" Vadic said. "Couldn't quite hear you."

"I said, we'll pay it, you arrogant bastard." Replied the old man. Vadic couldn't help it; his whole face lit up with a smile that was painfully large.

"Well in that case, I'll need a base of operations for myself and my associates here in Tokyo; I'll need a building away from the civilian populace, but large and defendable. And don't you dare try to skimp on me; I can't and won't work in inadequate conditions."

"The chief offers you all of this and you have the guts to ask for _more?"_ Asked Ajiro, dumbfounded.

"I guess you're right," Vadic replied. "I'll make sure to write a nice eulogy for all of your funerals.

"I'll get you a building dammit. Just… Just promise you'll help." The old man pleaded.

"Oh I will, as long as you also throw in a white kitten-"

"Vadic..." Akira interrupted, her feline ears flattening against her head. "Pushing it too far."

"Fine." Sighed Vadic. "You know how to find me; contact me when we have a place for me to set up shop." He paused to fish a small note out of his pocket. "I almost forgot, I will also be needing the items on this list." He tossed the small paper across the table and it landed neatly in front of the man across from him. He picked up the paper and read its contents. His assistant looked over his shoulder and read the paper as well. Her eyes widened as she exclaimed.

"You want all this?! The amount of Varanium required to-"

"As you wish." The man cut her off. "We'll make sure that everything on this list is delivered to your front door as soon as we find a place for you." He said with obvious distaste.

"Well, I thank you for all you're doing to make my visit here confortable. I'll see all of you very soon, I imagine." And with that, the Dark Messiah and his partner walked out of the room, out of the building and back onto the bustling streets of Tokyo.

"Wow Vadic, I've never seen you get mad like that before." Akira stated.

"I wasn't." He replied flatly.

"What do you mean you weren't mad? It seemed pretty definitive when you raised your voice." Vadic stopped and looked down at Akira.

"Like you stated, you've never witnessed me get angry, and hopefully you never will." Akira tilted her head, now completely confused. "Think of it as an act. I have never gotten mad in your presence, and I did not just now either. I behaved in a way that allowed me to control the situation, and not be controlled. They believed I was angry, and that worked to my advantage."

"So you tricked them?"

"People are easily manipulated."

* * *

Thank you for reading Part 1, chapter 2 of Edge of the Abyss. SMSoulrend and I have been slacking off something fierce and we decided that it was time to make a comeback. We don't have an upload schedule in place, we have done this to ensure quality over quantity and deliver the best material we are able to release. We have groundwork for the upcoming chapters and are hard at work doing research and making sure that we stay true to cannon. Hope to see you all in future chapters.

\- Borderlinefreeze


End file.
